Fair Fit is an individually run sewing studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where you can learn how to sew and make your own clothing. I teach individualized sewing instruction for students at all levels of experience, from absolute beginner to practiced and seasoned sewers.

Nov 21 The Fair Fit Method Sewing + Design- FAQS and How the Fashion Sewing Program is Structured, Taught, and Timed

Each course in the Fair Fit Method is taught through video instruction, with pdf books, the patterns, and supplementary materials to support you through the course work.

Learn and Make the Fair Fit Skirt and Learn and Make the Fair Fit Dress are larger courses and run for 8 to 10 week periods. Because active sewists often have many projects on their cutting table, it's important to know that you can participate in the courses in 2 different ways- self paced or by following the recommended syllabus and timeline.

Are you a lifelong learner too? In my email newsletter, I send articles to teach you sewing practices to create clothing that is meaningful to you. Sign up to receive email lessons on garment design, the latest blog posts and video tutorials, and all the latest class announcements and promotions.

A Look at the Self Paced Option

When you enroll in any of the courses in the Fair Fit Method, as the course begins you will have access 24/7 to the videos, modules, patterns, and materials. You will be able to create a login and password that you can access from anywhere, at any time, on most up to date devices and computers. You also get unlimited access to the content- your ability to take the course does not go away, so even if life gets busy and you can't participate for a few months, you can come back and pick up where you left off.

The self paced nature of the course and the content is great for people who are self directed and have difficult schedules. And for students who prefer to work faster or work slower will want to choose the self paced option. During our testing phase, I had one student work through her first dress in a weekend. With the self paced aspect of the courses, you can supervise yourself and your projects and work at your own speed.

Recommended Timeline and Email Support

For folks who need and want more accountability, with weekly assignments/deadlines and tasks to complete, I'll send you weekly syllabus updates and reminders to keep you on track with the timeline and work during the course. That's what is meant by "6 week" or "8 week" course. Technically, you get to have the course for as long as the internet is alive and working, however, as a teacher I just know some people like to have a path laid out for them.

For these types of learners, each week you will receive an email from me and instructions of what modules to work through. Please note, this will only occur during the designated dates and times for the course. If you want to know the specific dates, please refer back to this post.

For those self paced learners, you will still get those emails too. You don't have to follow them, it's just there as an added bonus and help to keep you on track and focused on the course.

Email Support

I will also be available via email for any enrolled student who has a question with the course work. I hate a messy inbox, so I usually respond within 24 hours, 48 if I'm traveling or it's the weekend. It is highly encouraged that you email me- while there are many, many, demonstrations and tutorials already in the course, I can't know a fit, proportion, or specific alteration if you don't ask!

Private Lessons for Additional Support

If you want even more personalized assistance from me and have questions beyond the scope of the course, you will have the option to enroll in additional private and individualized instruction from me.

FAQ's

Below is a list of common questions that I have been asked throughout the last year. I will continue to add to this article, so if you have more questions, please shoot me an email.

I can’t enroll in the first session- will this be offered later?

At this time, the ability to enroll in the first courses in the Fair Fit Method - Learn and Make the Fair Fit Skirt and Dress, will happen 3 times a year. It will only be offered during the designated enrollment period. If you know you want to take the course, but have to wait, make sure you sign up to be the first to know when the next enrollment period begins.

I’m not sure I can commit to the whole program, can I just do the skirt and then decide from there?

Yes, you will have the option to take the courses one at a time, however, you must have completed the necessary prerequisite course Learn and Make the Fair Fit Dress and Skirt in order to create the more advanced variations. The patterns and courses build on each other, and the advanced options won’t work without the teachings from the core curriculum.

Can I use another pattern besides the Fair Fit Pattern for my coursework?

While you will learn skills that apply to all areas of patterns, sewing, and fashion design, and the fit and proportion principles learned will apply to all garments, you can’t do some of the same things with a cut and sew pattern as you do with the Fair Fit Method- for reasons already mentioned in earlier posts. However, if you are willing to use the problem solving skills learned in the courses, and confidently tackle the project the ways I teach you, then you can definitely incorporate a lot of the skills you will learn into other commercial patterns.

What if my questions aren't answered in the course?

The videos are filmed in real time, by me and in my studio, to enable me to be responsive and adaptive to student fit and draping questions that come up. During our course durations, alterations and demos are added as they are needed, creating an archive of fit, design, and pattern customization lessons.

This approach allows me to add new videos when necessary to address student questions as they arise, giving additional video support as you complete the course. Every season the course is updated with answers to student questions, so there is always more to learn. Sometimes Fair Fit students with different body types appear in the videos, and you will get the experience of an in-person class without the hassle of time commitments.

How do I know this pattern will work for my body?

That's the biggest question right? I'm sure all of you, as you have advanced on your path of learning to sew and make your own clothing have had a pattern fail, or have sewn up a garment that just didn't look right on your body. It is always a potential disappointment, and we all face the fact that it can happen, no matter how advanced you are as a sewist.

It is more of a question of are you willing to work with the pattern to learn more about the fit? I really haven't found someone who hasn't been able to make a garment from it, however, of course you are going to have some folks who just don't like the nature or design of the dress. And some dresses, or skirts, aren't flattering for all proportions and body types, so I'm definitely not going to claim that style wise that it's for everyone.

However, you will take away far more from the courses than just a garment, you are learning an entire skillset of sewing, design, draping, pattern fit and alteration, and a process for custom design.

I encourage you to check out this series of blog posts written about the method and what others have made. You will also want to check the size range of the pattern, shown here. On our enrollment page, you can also see garments that students and testers have made to get an idea of what to expect. If you have any doubts, please reach out to me here to ask a question before enrolling.

The Fair Fit pattern is a tool that you can use to enhance your learning edge, and learn so many skills and techniques to grow your sewing practice. You are making more than just a dress, rather you are acquiring a more advanced skill set.

Can I sell what I make?

Fair Fit is a registered trademark, and all course materials including the patterns are protected under copyright law. The courses, patterns, videos, and course materials are for private individual use only.

Can I share my program with a friend, or split the registration fee?

The course, patterns, and materials are meant for one student, and one student only. If your friend wants to enroll, they need to pay the full registration price. Sharing course materials is strictly prohibited.

Yes! Just be sure to tag me @fairfit so I can see what you are up to and what you made :)

What about refunds?

If you are unhappy with the course for any reason, you will have an option of a no questions asked refund within 10 days of the course start date. After that, no refunds or exchanges are provided.

What equipment do I need to participate in the course?

You will need access to a computer or a smart device and an internet connection strong enough to support video streaming. You also must have an adjustable dress form to participate in this course and access to a sewing machine.

What’s my time commitment?

You can work at your own pace, or follow a recommended syllabus and timeline. The course is designed to take 3 to 4 hours a week. When you enroll you will have permanent access to the courses you have purchased. If you need to take your time, or work at your own pace, or go on vacation during our course durations, you definitely can!

If you know you are a slower worker, the self paced option is the best bet. For folks who need more accountability following the syllabus will give you things to do each week. I do expect that you carefully evaluate your skill level and desire to complete the coursework. You will work hard in this course and it's going to be very different than sewing patterns you may have encountered before.

This sounds like a lot of work- how can I know that I will be able to complete the course in the required amount of time?

It is a lot of work! While each course follows a timeline of emails and weekly tasks, once enrolled you do not have to follow it and most students who have taken the course so far have preferred to work at their own pace. It is a suggested timeline, for those who want more structure and support and guidance of when to do a certain task so that you can manage your time and also be able to work on other sewing projects on your table.

If you want to slow it down, or life gets really busy, you will have continuous access to the course, so you can follow at your own pace and participate on your own schedule.

This course is a commitment and it will teach you advanced methodologies. It is good to think of it like enrolling in a college course, and that you will have a syllabus to complete, and projects to create in a certain order. However, I’m not going to hold you accountable to a missed deadline by any means, and you will need to manage your own time and complete the projects before moving on to the next one.

How is this different than the sewing patterns I'm used to working with?

In a traditional cut and sew pattern, you are sewing a project that’s been designed for you from start to finish. You do get to choose your fabric, and maybe a little bit of how you sew it, but you don’t have as much choice in the design of the garment, which leads to lots of frustrations in sewing when you want to change a pattern. When you want to change a pattern, you need a whole other skill set. With the Fair Fit Method, you get a lot more choice in the design. In fact- that’s why I call it “Fair Fit”. Its fair to teach the skills and empower you to rely on yourself to solve a problem- if you have to rely on another person to determine fit, style, and choose your design concept, you just don’t have as much freedom and can’t work as fluently.

Will you have a private Facebook group so I can engage with you and others in the course?

I have given this question A LOT of thought, because I know its the norm in online courses. However at this time, I am more quickly and able to monitor questions effectively with email. So the answer is at this time no, but if you have questions regarding content in the course you can ask me directly via email.

The Fair Fit Method is my specific way of teaching. I prefer that you ask me questions and communicate with me, so that I can help you with your learning and engage with you directly.

There may come a time, with the success of the course, that I can add a forum or a private group for students to participate and engage with each other, and if that does happen all enrolled students will be encouraged to participate.

I've answered all of the questions I've said so far, but I'm sure there are more. As I said, if you have a specific question I'd love to answer it. Please let me know and shoot me an email. I'll not only answer you directly, but add it to this dialogue too!